Melbourne Metropolis’s gamble to play injured striker Jamie Maclaren has didn’t repay, with the A-League leaders held to a 1-1 draw by Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday evening.
Regardless of not being chosen by Socceroos coach Graham Arnold for Australia’s two-games collection in opposition to Ecuador beginning in Sydney on Friday evening due to a damaged toe, Maclaren was nonetheless deemed match sufficient to play for a Metropolis facet hit by harm.
It’s understood Arnold gave Maclaren and Metropolis coach Rado Vidosic his blessing to select the Socceroos striker regardless of him lacking nationwide responsibility.
Nonetheless, whereas Maclaren labored arduous, he struggled at instances along with his harm and wasn’t his ordinary potent self in entrance of objective.
He additionally wasn’t helped by some odd service, significantly in stoppage time when he was completely unmarked within the Bulls’ penalty space however was let down by a poor go from teammate and fellow Socceroo Marco Tilio.
Maclaren was additionally left annoyed early within the second half when he thought he had earnt a penalty for Metropolis after being fouled by Macarthur defender Jonathan Aspropotamitis.
Nonetheless after initially pointing to the spot, referee Chris Beath rescinded the penalty after a VAR verify confirmed the Maclaren was in an offside place.
With the scores locked at 1-1 within the 89th minute, Metropolis thought that they had an opportunity to attain a winner when Beath once more pointed to the penalty spot, this time for what he thought was a foul from Macarthur’s Ivan Vujica on Aiden O’Neill.
Nonetheless, fortune was to once more favour the Bulls when Beath once more overturned his choice after being suggested by the VAR to overview footage of the incident.
Metropolis due to this fact needed to accept a share of the factors.
Having led second-placed Adelaide United by six factors firstly of the spherical, Metropolis’s benefit over the Reds has now been decreased to 4 factors, however Vidosic’s males nonetheless have a recreation in hand.
“I’m so pleased with my boys. They tried so arduous,” Vidosic informed Paramount +.
“You make your individual luck and it was simply a type of nights the place the go was perhaps a bit bit too arduous, or we have been a bit bit egocentric in these conditions, or the pictures have been blocked.”
In opposition to the run of play, Macarthur – whose particular pink jerseys might be auctioned for the Sony Basis Australia charity – went forward within the twenty sixth minute.
Some poor defending from Metropolis centre-back Curtis Good allowed Macarthur attacker Al Hassan Toure to cost ahead into the guests’ virtually empty half.
Regardless of being chased down by midfielder O’Neill, Toure confirmed nice composure to feed unmarked teammate Jason Romero, who scored his first A-League objective.
It was solely the woodwork that denied Metropolis an equaliser within the thirty sixth minute when a long-distance strike from captain Scott Jamieson struck the crossbar.
Nonetheless, Metropolis ultimately levelled the scores within the 66th minute when Aspropotamitis turned a low cross from younger star Jordan Bos into his personal web.
